The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1887-02-25
Left to Die in the Snow.
THOUSANDS OF HEAD OF CATTLE LOST IN
DAKOTA AND WYOMING.


tells the following story of death among
cattle: A journey down the western
slope of the Black Hills to the plains
of Wyoming in winter adds more to a
mans information than pleasure. The
severity of the weather has been felt
throughout the country but on these
western plains, sheltered by the noun
talns, where rough wintry storms are
little expected and no provision is made
to resist them, the winter has assumed
a grim and terrible aspect. The writer
in company with the manager of a
Dakota cattle company which keeps
10000 head of cattle wintering on the
ranges of western Dakota and eastern
Wyoming, recently made the journey
down the western slope of the Hills to
the Wyoming plains to observe how
the herds survive the storms of winter
without food or shelter.
The valleys of the western Hills, es-
pecially the deep and narrow valley of
the Inyon Kaga, are filled to the depth
of eight or ten feet with snow. These
valleys are rendered passable to the
traveller only by the constant coming
and going of the long trains of freight
wagons. In general single beaten
track winds through the narrow valley
and continuous enbankments of snow
four or five feet high wall in the road.
AT irregular intervals there are meet
ing places where the snow is beaten
down over a space wide enough for
two teams to pass without being buried.
Along the Inyon Kaga the Hills rise
from 800 to 1000 feet on either side.
Here and there along the steep hill
sides the hut of a miner or hunter
stands in desolate solitude sending up
its smoke among the black pine groves
or the snow covered rocks. Otherwise
these valleys are vast solitu les, dis.
turbed only by the noise of the torrents
and the rumbling of the freightwa gons.
The valleys gradually widen and the
hills dwindle away and finally merge
into one wide waste of drifting snow.
Here and there few blades of wither-
ed grass rise above the surface of snow
and the region has an unutterably wild
and desolate look. Far as the eye can
reach it finds nothing but this Sahara
of drifting snow over which the wind
sweeps and howls, save where here and
there the smoke is seen curling up
from the chimney of herdsman's hut
half-buried in the drifts. On the plain
the snow is found several feet lighter
than in the valleys above, averaging
from eight to eighteen inches. But the
wind blows hurricane from the north
and the air is filled with binding clouds
OF snow. This great plain, buried deep
in snow, is perhaps the greatest cattle
range of the Northwest, being the sum.
mer and winter pasture of hundreds of
thousands of cattle.
Long before reaching the principal
ranch or headquarters of the company,
evidences of the fatal severity of the
winter storms were found in the car
cases of cattle half buried in the snow
that lay scattered over the plain. Look
ing in any direction, horn a nose or
an upturned leg could be seen project
ing above the snow. In drive of
fifty miles along the western skirt of
the Hills, there was scarcely moment
when the carcass of an animal was not
visible within few rods of the track.
Sometimes ten or dozen lay in group
on the south side of knoll or in a
narrow ravine, where water might once
have run. Many of them have frozen
stiff while standing on their feet. Here
and there an animal or group of ami,
mails could be seen standing motionless
and dead with noses resting in the
snow. Troops of hungry coyotes come
proving down from the Hills to gorge
themselves on the frozen carcasses.
Many an animal can be seen near the
foot of the Hills standing stiffiy on its
feet among the drifting snow with
great holes torn in its sides by these
famishing creatures.
-Four days were spent at the ranch
of the Dakota Company, and had an
opportunity of more carefully inspect
ing the winters havoc among the herds.
Three months ago more than ten thou
sand cattle owned by this company
were grazing upon this range, all of
them fat and healthy. 1t would take
the appliances of Spanish Inquisition
TO extort from the owners a confession
of their present number. In one rayine
where the cattle used to find water,
lay l67 dead, in little more than miles
distance. Most of them were lying
down, often four or five piled together
showing that they had stood in groups
striving by united effort to resist the
deadly power of the freezing blast.
Calves from six to eight months old
lying by the sides or their mothers
were among the commonest sights. At
one spot a young calf lay half buried
in the snow while the poor mother
stood over il with her nose touching
its neck. AT another spot stood a COW
stiffened with cold, and young calf
by her side standing in attitude to suck.
In another rayine eighty-two dead cat
tie were found heaped together In
the midst OF the group was an old red
bull standing on bis feet surrounded
by heaps of COWS and calves. Most of
the cattle were lying down some of
them had fallen upon their knees, and
half dozen were ON their feet. Cows
exhausted by the summers sucking
and spring calves are the favorite vic
tins of the storms, and these lie scat
tered over the prairie in thousands.
The living cattle go about among
their frozen mates aud are, if possible,
q more pitifpl sight than the heaps Of